PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, founder and chairman of Sunway Group as well as founder and trustee of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF), has committed RM100 million annually over the next five years to create what is set to become one of Malaysia’s largest education endowments.
The endowment is modelled on legacy institutions, such as Harvard University and University of al-Qarawiyyin, one of the oldest universities in the world, and is intended to provide support for academic excellence, research and innovation at Sunway University, in perpetuity.
Cheah said: “As long as I have the privilege of time, I will keep giving. Over the next five years alone, I am committing a total of RM500 million to our endowment. We are only at the beginning of our story, but my aspiration is for Sunway University to grow into one of the world’s great centres of learning and to continue uplifting lives long after I am gone.”
The announcement was made by JCF trustee and Sunway University pro-chancellor Tan Sri Razman M Hashim at the JCF 2025 Scholarships and Awards Ceremony, held in the presence of Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, where a total of RM75 million worth of scholarships and grants were awarded this year.
During the ceremony, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin personally presented some 100 students with their awards, including the recipients of the inaugural Sir Jeffrey Cheah Sunway Medical School Scholarship for Doctor of Medicine Programme, for outstanding medical students with the training to be future-ready specialists, and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation Community Scholarship, which provide students from welfare homes and underprivileged communities the opportunity to pursue their higher education.
This year, more than 6,700 students will receive various scholarships from JCF, including the Sunway University Postgraduate Studentships and Scholarship, Sunway-Victoria University Excellence Scholarship, and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation Community Scholarship.
To date, JCF has disbursed more than RM967 million in scholarships and grants, and is expected to surpass RM1 billion by 2026, underscoring its position as one of the country’s most significant private philanthropic vehicles in education.
